USGBC, 15 Years Old, Looks Back

In honor of itself (hmm... was really the best way for me to kick off this post?), the USGBC has done a kind of a cool thing. A letter released to its membership says,

... when we reflected on how best we could mark our anniversary as a community of leaders called the U.S. Green Building Council, we decided that the story was best told in your words.

They've produced eight short documentaries (most of them clocking in at about 3 to 3-1/2 minutes) that feature 15 "pivotal leaders and unsung heroes" talking about the early days of green building and looking to what's ahead. The second one features Alex Wilson, fearless cofounder of BuildingGreen. (They got his name right, but screwed up his association — he's the executive editor of Environmental Building News, not Healthy Building Network — which is a very good organization, but something else entirely.) People are encouraged to post video responses on YouTube, which is a great idea. What's sometimes forgotten is that green building isn't supposed to be about points and products — it's supposed to be about us. I've embedded all eight of the shorts, in order, below. Do We Have the Will? (3:06)

Seeds of a Green Revolution (3:21)

Daniel Wallach, Greensburg Green Town, Mainstreet Heroes (3:22)

(Also see the post about the Greensburg case studies here) Building Momentum (3:08)

Martha Jane Murray, New Orleans, Leave No One Behind (2:40)

The Urgency of Change: How Far, How Fast? (4:24)

Linda Cato, Imago Dei Middle School, The Green Schoolhouse (3:30)

Sustainability Within a Generation? (3:33)